


Moon & Stars

by JLPierre



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff and Angst, In the Veil, Lost Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Marauders, Marauders' Era, Not Canon Compliant - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Post-Marauders' Era, Resurrection, Sirius Comes Back, Teenage Dorks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-04 05:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11548149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JLPierre/pseuds/JLPierre
Summary: Can love save a lost soul? Remus Lupin tries all the same.Flashbacks of times he should have said how he felt, will The Veil grant him a chance to unburden his feelings.





	1. Moon & Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ProfessorDrarry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfessorDrarry/gifts).



> AN: I'm not really sure what to say except I love these boys.  
> Beta Love: All of it goes to Sandra-Sempra because not only did she beta, but she fell in love and sent me a Snapchat of her crying over it - she's like the best ever!

* * *

**Moon & Stars**

Remus Lupin x Sirius Black

* * *

He stood at The Veil. His hand stuffed into his pocket, the parchment with his secrets brushing against the scarred skin. There were words he had never said, in loopy handwriting he had perfected a long time ago.

He had secrets; he had fears — both of which had merged when he watched the person he should have shared both with, fall through the Veil.

Remus Lupin was incomplete. He had always been somewhat incomplete, and for a long time he had blamed the childhood event which had brought horror to his family's doorstep. It had taken him far too long — _years_ in fact — to realise what would complete him, had stood in front of him all that time.

Some would remember the man who had passed as rash, ignorant and a bully. Remus remembered him as the opposite: opinionated, brave and loyal — a true Gryffindor who had Slytherin genes; although he'd never tell him that.

He slid his shoe across the floor, the grating sound of stone meeting the base of his worn sole echoed around the room. The place was so silent it almost spoke to him. It was so empty it almost filled the cracks within him.

* * *

" _So, young wolf of mine, who's got you a blushing for the cushing?"_

_Remus frowned as he looked at a rather handsome, but incredibly drunk Sirius. The feelings that had manifested over the years were now lodged in his chest and throat, itching to burst out of him and shower the world with his declaration. He knew it wasn't a good idea; he didn't ever have many good ideas — except the tracking of students on the map, which had been a good idea._

" _No one," Remus replied. "I have no blushing, or.. I don't even know what 'cushing' is but I know I don't have it. Plus –"_

" _Alright, alright," Sirius smirked, his hand running through his dark locks, "I guessed wrong then."_

" _Guessed?"_

_It was Sirius' turn to shrug, his eyes unnaturally knowledgeable for saying how intoxicated he was. "I thought you might like someone close to you, that was all."_

* * *

He had questions. Many, _many_ questions. For example, why that night he had handed his bike — his precious bike — to Hagrid?

For the longest time, Remus had assumed it was to get the boy to safety and to enact his awful plan of killing their friend. That bike, however, meant more to Sirius than anything. He had spent so much of his summer tuning it, cleaning it in the winter and even drinking on it when he was down. That bike was like the partner Sirius had never had.

His bike _was_ almost his lover. So why did he hand it over so freely? Was he _done_ with that relationship?

Remus also wanted to ask why he hadn't come to him. As soon as he had learnt Peter had betrayed them all, and not him — the _wolf_ with _all_ the secrets — he hadn't come to see him. He hadn't taken back the knife-like words he had thrown at him the last time they had met.

Sirius left him. Sirius _always_ left him.

Yes, theoretically he did a noble but stupid thing. If he had come to him, he could have saved him those years in prison — they could have thought of something _together._

* * *

" _Why are you helping me?"_

 _Remus frowned, a habit he seemed to do more often as of late. "We're mates, aren't we?" Sirius shrugged, a smirk appearing on his lips. "I have far more detentions under my belt because of our friendship than I'd like. I'm_ always _here to help you."_

_Sirius nodded and didn't meet his eyes. This was a recurring thing between them, and it almost made Remus want to ask why; why he was avoiding his eyes._

" _Prongs won't know what hit him," Sirius mumbled after several, painfully quiet, seconds._

" _He's going to know this is you."_

 _The raven-haired man sighed, the silver orbs bathing him in a light and colour Remus hadn't felt before. "But he'll clock on that_ someone _had to help with the charm work — as_ vastly _intelligent as I am — he knows I suck dick at this."_

_Remus almost choked. Dick. His dick. Fuck. "True," he managed to splutter out, thoughts moving to Sirius' dick that was so close, so near –_

" _Y'alright?" Sirius smirked, brushing his hair over his head and ruffling it as he raised his brows. "You almost look…_ uncomfortable."

" _Charm work is hard." Remus stared at the book spread between them, the only thing keeping them apart. "It's not every day you have to make clothes stick to your best friend so he can't get_ intimate _with a girl."_

_Sirius laughed, the sweet boom of it filling Remus' chest. "Intimate. You're funny, Moony."_

* * *

Remus took a deep breath. The whole thing seemed easier in his head, but coming here and facing the very thing that had taken his future away _hurt._

He thought over the kind words people had said about Sirius, the words that offered no comfort. No one knew he was breaking inside; no one even knew he was here.

Taking a step closer, the paper so close to his fingers now if he pulled it out the room would see it, and running wouldn't be an option any longer. The voices of The Veil sang clearer now, and he could see why people were sucked in; how people would struggle to let go.

It made him wonder if it hurt to fall through. The silk-looking magic was flowing like undisturbed water in the middle of stone columns — it looked calm. The idea of death itself sounded peaceful, and Remus despised how that thought had been with him as a comfort during the war and the witnessing of death that didn't seem like that at all.

Despising the promise he made in the avoidance of his own death, he knew he couldn't back away. If Remus did just as he wanted to, he would be letting down all those who gave their life for a future — and he'd have wasted a second to say what he had to say.

Somehow he suspected that was why he was here.

Pulling the parchment from his pocket, the Latin words dancing before his eyes. It was time; he would be brave.

"I'm here to bargain with fate," he called first. When nothing responded — just like he imagined — he continued, his eyes darting over the page and he began to speak the words.

_One more moment. One last goodbye. A time borrowed can be taken elsewhere._

The words fell from Remus as though he hadn't been scared, but fear was more a part of him than any confidence. The room filled with a thicker air than he had known, and he almost choked on his words because of it.

At the last words of ' _of, unspoken love'_ Remus looked around, not sure what to expect. In his mind, he had thought he'd have to battle a demon; bargain with some crypt keeper of time. None of that happened. A golden shaped figure emerged from the Veil — looking like they didn't belong from there at all.

If it was a she — she looked down on him like a woman only could. If he was a he — he had already judged him heavily for his stupidity.

"I - I want a moment to say - say goodbye," Remus stammered. His other hand was sliding into his pocket as he pulled out the hair of Bellatrix Lestrange, somehow finding ease in holding it this time. "From the head of someone who put my… _friend_ behind that Veil. She - her soul has been sent to the… _other_ world?"

The golden figure looked at him, and Remus decided to name them Fate.

Fate seemed appropriate because that was what was in their hands. They held onto his, others and the worlds — in a sense. Without this moment, he wasn't sure he could be happy.

"Whom do you wish for?" The voice said, in neither a voice of a man or a woman.

"Sirius Black," Remus said, "I wish to speak to Sirius Black."

* * *

" _I'd die for you Moony."_

_Remus snorted, looking over at a drunk Sirius as James and Lily swayed to their first dance. Jars with flickers of red flames dancing above them, levitating from Lily's charms._

" _Where on Godric's green earth did that come from?"_

_Sirius smiled, "My heart." He brought the bottle to his lips, meeting Remus' eyes the entire time before letting the pop sounds from the bottle fill the air between them. "You heard Prongs. Till death do I, and that shit."_

" _Right?" Remus asked, prodding slightly._

" _I'd die for you," Sirius said with an air of confidence. "You're_ it, _y'know."_

" _It?" Remus asked with a smirk. "I think that you're drunk and 'it' needs to take you home."_

_Sirius laughed, not denying the fact he was and it made Remus hurt. It was all he had ever wanted to hear, and now that he did they didn't measure up. It could be down to the fact that Sirius was drunk out of his mind or Remus was too afraid to let himself fall and accept that this confession was the one he had been waiting for._

_But it all hurt. Every part of him._

" _I love you, Moony."_

" _Yeah, love you too Pads."_ More than you'll know, _he wanted to say, but didn't. The pair of them were staring at the another. "I'd die for you."_

" _I'd die with you," Sirius said before laughing, "I'd die with you, cause I'd miss ya too much."_

" _You're drunk."_

" _I'm drunk," Sirius nodded, his smile getting larger._

* * *

As soon as the word Black left his lips, the figure burst into flames of light. The Veil flowed, but he didn't see much else, his arm having to shield his eyes to stop them from burning.

Remus tried and tried to look, but each time it felt like his brain was about to explode, and he decided to judge when to look based on the light at his feet and the sounds in his ears. It felt like hours when he knew it hadn't even been a minute.

 _Would_ this even work? The book he had read this from had come from the Lovegood's after all. Even now, burning retina's, he could see Luna's smile and twinkling eyes as she whispered his heart's desire. She could see it, his pain, his loss — although she admitted she didn't know why.

No one did. The only soul close to knowing was gone, leaving her infant son behind as she died to protect him.

When the light diminished, Remus saw them as clear as the stars beside the moon when the clouds had vanished. He was here. Grey eyes, black hair, tattooed skin.

"Moo-mus?"

Remus let out the sob that had been choking him; his feet had taken him forward to Sirius and he wrapped his arms around his neck, never wanting to let go. They embraced like lovers, even if they were far from it; he buried his neck into him like he'd have him back forever — even if Remus knew this was a brief moment.

"Moomus?" Remus laughed full of tears, snot and more.

Sirius had tightened his hold, "Remus and Moony combined. It's… it's been a while."

"Y'can say that," Remus said.

He didn't want to let go; he couldn't let go. This was all Remus would ever have, and he didn't want it to end, he didn't want to say a _proper_ goodbye, not like he had thought he did.

How can you say goodbye to everything? How can you want to bid your life away when you know you have to continue on?

"You brought me back?" Sirius asked, his grip loosening allowing Remus to look at his face. "You… how?"

Remus didn't want to answer with the truth because it sounded corny. There was no other answer he could give though, so he knew, with little choice, that he had too.

"Love. I…" the words tapered off before he had even begun. Knowing this would be the only time he would get to say it didn't convince him to continue. "Listen Padfoot –"

"– You aged _beautifully_ ," Sirius cut in, leaving Remus flustered and blushing. "I'm not - I ain't even trying to inflate that tiny wolf brain - but, damn, Moony."

Remus slid his hand up over his face, the other staying firmly on Sirius' hip — where it had fallen subconsciously. "I look the –"

"The next words outta your mouth best not be same or monster cause I died and, I get to be right okay? _Okay?"_

"Okay," Remus breathed.

Sirius nodded, the confidence all over his face just as it always had been. "You gonna listen to what I have to say?" It was as though he knew there was a time limit; like he had words burning in his throat the same as Remus did. "I fucking love you. Like a friend and a brother, and something a little more that I've never been quite so sure what to do with."

Remus felt his heart slamming into his chest. This, yes, him, all of it. It was heavenly; it was like a scene from a movie that he had sobbed over and like a book in how deep the description was.

"I spent so many fucking years wondering, waiting, not sure and confused. But when I fell… when I fucking felt my life falling from my fingers, then - then I knew," Sirius said with assurance. His hand rising to stroke Remus' cheek and scar he had acquired from the moon before this day. "I didn't just see moments from the life _I had_ , but the life _I could have had_ , if I had more fucking Gryffindor in me."

Remus swallowed. It sounded painful, and he saw a flicker of fear on Sirius' face, and he realised, too late, how it must all have looked. The hand on his cheek slowly retracting and if not for his quick reflexes and pushing it back, the two of them holding hands on Remus' cheek – he was sure he'd have lost him.

"You're the brightest star in the sky –" Remus began, and even in this sincerely vulnerable moment, Sirius still rolled his eyes. He still assumed that some poetic garbage was about to cut into the moment. "– And what I wanted to say was that you've always been the brightest person in my life," Sirius groaned but still held onto him, "But that's cheesy, and you despise cheesy and what I really wanted to say. More than anything. Is that I've wanted to kiss you since fourth year. I wanted to hold you the night that you went to the Potters. I wanted to _fix_ you when you came back from Prison."

A silence fell between them for a brief second, but it felt like days passed. The two sharing an insight into what their could have been life, but it was cut short by Remus' words.

"I wanted to die with you," Remus said as his bottom lip quivered. "I wanted to run in there, and hold you and tell you what I…" Remus sighed, "I love you. I love you for the man you are, was, could be and aren't. I love all of you. As a friend, a lover and something so much more, _if only we had the time."_

The room seemed to glow a faint gold, their lips almost brushing and Remus nearly believed it was fate that was lining the room — how wrong he was. Their lips met in a storm of unsaid words, passion and pain. Everything they had, felt and wanted was pushed into the kiss; their lips moving as though they had already perfected it. Their lips moulding together as if they were made for one another.

It was as Remus placed a hand on Sirius' chest, their lips deepening the kiss, which he felt Sirius' heart hammer in his chest. It was the same beat as his own, the two having synced at the touch of their kiss. The heartbeat grew stronger, and wasn't as faint as it had been, and Remus almost let himself believe he was bringing him back — like he was saving him.

"Remus," Sirius breathed as their lips parted before joining again.

If this were all they would ever have; if this was all they should ever be given — he was taking it with his greedy werewolf hands. He was going to ravage him; he was going to say every word he could with this kiss and fill a hole in Sirius that he had _always_ seen there.

For a moment in Sirius' life, Remus would heal him, and in turn, heal himself by allowing himself this time to be happy.

"Moony," Sirius said as he turned from him, their eyes meeting in a struggle of words they didn't want to say.

Both of them turned to the watch on Remus' wrist, seeing that the time had ticked on and gone past when he should have left.

"No…" Sirius mumbled in disbelief.

The gold swirl brightened and caused them, with their arms still tangled around the other, to look up and see the same faceless figure above them. Instead of hostility written over her frame, it was acceptance, it was a nod of _here you go_ , and Remus was pinned at the moment unable to ask — _unable to believe_.

"Am I…" Sirius, the one never shy of words, asked.

The being nodded, and before they could utter another sound, the figure danced around the room and flew into the Veil. At the disappearance of light, the two of them struggled to stand, both struggling to understand how lucky they were — and the weight of their thankfulness caused them to fall.

Their bodies hit the stone ground, their arms wrapped around one another and every inch of their clothed bodies met as they held each other.

 _He was here,_ Remus thought, _I have him._

Sirius looked into his eyes, _it's you – you did it_ , they screamed.

"Don't leave me," Remus coughed out. " _Please?_ "

"As long as you don't leave me."

Remus answered him with a kiss. A slower, more delicate kiss that showed the depths of his heart. He let his tongue dance softly over the entrance of his lips as he appreciated the vibration of Sirius' moan at the touch. Remus continued to grasp at the jacket and blazer he had last seen Sirius in, feeling that he was real and this wasn't some sort of mirage.

Sirius seemed to do the same, his fingers sliding up the scars on Remus' neck before brushing into the soft hair upon his head.

It was heavenly; it was full of life. Era's of desperation, wars and losses were swirling around them as they left it all in the past — for once both looking forward.

The wars were over. Harry had lived. And Sirius had come back from the dead — all in all, there were stories to tell.

* * *

**xXx**

* * *

**AN** : Thank you so much for reading, this was the first time I've showcased my Wolfstar [other than in aesthetic and drabbles] so it means a lot that you took the time to read. I love you endlessly.


	2. Sunset & Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus shows Sirius what his life is now, and the two try to figure out where they go from here.

****

**Sunset and Sky**

* * *

Neither spoke for a while.

Sirius was alive. He was here, stood in front of Remus — the horrid arch behind them. It was more than a dream; it was utter spellbinding perfection. He wasn't sure what he had done to deserve him back — but he wouldn't ask and risk losing him.

Their hands entwined as Remus led him out to the quiet corridor of the lower-ground Ministry. While they had much to talk over, he knew it wasn't the time, and it _most_ definitely wasn't the place. He still didn't wish to let go of his hand, Remus wanted it safely against his palm for as long as Sirius would let him. The touch reminding him this was real, and there was nothing to wake up from.

Remus knew he would have a lot to answer for. He'd have to explain to the entire Order what had happened, and how he had gone there, and sheer fate had allowed Sirius to return — even thinking it sounded unbelievable.

The saving grace in it all was that Harry would be out at the Weasley's — he had chosen tonight for the precise reason of what tonight would involve. Remus had foreseen the evening would be especially hard for him, and being alone after to drink was wise — he hadn't expected to be coming home with the very man he had hoped to see. In truth, he hadn't been expecting anything.

The two of them walked up to the lift, both visibly thankful no one had seen them yet, and that a Saturday evening at the Ministry was still as quiet as they had been during the Order's eye. Remus looked to Sirius — to him nothing had changed. To Remus, _everything_ had changed — an entire war had happened, an entire Ministry revised, and so much democracy had altered after being shifted on its head during _Voldemort's_ reign.

Sirius had no idea he worked here. Particularly for the very department that had once tried to lock Remus up for being what he was.

Silence stayed between them, but it was comfortable; welcomed. Sirius sighed quietly beside him, and Remus felt him move closer to his shoulder — he hoped he was of some comfort even if Remus knew he was rigid as a board.

"How…" Sirius swallowed as the lift jolted to a stop. "How are we getting out of here?"

Remus smiled, taking his hand a little tighter. "I have something to show you." Their hands fitting together like they were made for one another as Remus tugged him in the direction of his office. He had a _lot_ to show him.

* * *

_Remus whooshed back into Grimmauld Place. Alcohol may have blurred his eyes, and made him unstable — it hadn't taken his mind though, and he knew who needed to pay._

" _Kreacher!" Remus hissed, spit spraying from his mouth as he tensed his entire jaw. The place, the house — it was riddled in hate, and betrayal. "KREACHER!"_

_The elf popped in the air, stood before him with his long ears, and shit-eating expression. "Master's friend, the half beast has —"_

_He lunged. He had no idea why he did, but Remus lunged for him. His knees slammed into the old tiles that covered the floor, his hands empty of the elf as he fell on his palms. The pain soared through his bones, making him hiss through his teeth and became indescribable, but he wasn't sure it was worse than the feeling in his heart._

_Remus' shattered heart was far worse than any transformation._

" _Why?" Remus whispered, his head not lifting as he let his hair cover his eyes, remaining on all fours._

_When silence was all that greeted him, Remus lifted his head to see the elf looking at him in confusion._

" _Why?" Remus asked once more. "Just…_ tell _me why?"_

_He didn't even need an answer, a part of him already knowing._

_Remus hated always knowing._

* * *

He watched Sirius take in the space. It wasn't much by any means, but it was something. It had a desk with Remus' name on it, and it had a potted plant Hermione had given him. Books filled the small shelf, mainly from Harry and the others, and then in a gold frame waved Sirius, James, and Lily from the wedding.

Sirius hovered his eyes on the picture for a while, his hand rising to touch his beard and the ends of his hair. Remus knew he was pondering old times, taking in the image of the barely tattooed male without all the hardship lines he now wore.

"You work for them?"

Remus nodded, his hands moving into his old, worn chinos. "It's so illogical, I know —"

"It's barbaric," Sirius teased in his well-to-do voice. "Yet, I can't think of anything better. You know _this…_ better than anyone."

"It's okay," Remus shrugged.

Sirius watched him, and Remus could feel it. He wanted to look; meet his eyes and take it all in — never having expected to be under his gaze.

"You still dream of teaching?"

He only licked his lips because admitting it was too hard. "I like my life."

"You said that in sixth year when your life _sucked!_ "

Remus could only chuckle, his eyes moving over the tidy desk, and braced for teasing about his cleanliness. It didn't come. Sirius' hand snaked into his, the two wrapping their fingers around the other in the inside of his pocket.

"Take me home, Moony," Sirius whispered, his voice cracking a little at where it would mean.

"Where's home, Sirius?"

The raven-haired man sighed, a small smile appearing on his lips as silver eyes met green. "Home, is wherever my love resides," Sirius answered.

Remus was sure his heart grew twice its size at the comment.

* * *

" _Professor?"_

_Remus didn't want to look over his shoulder. He had heard them come in; he had somewhat expected them._

_The Patronus had burst through the dark bedroom, lighting up the disgraced way he was living, and showing him how far he had sunk. The message had been clear — it had been concise._

_So he had braced himself for the trio to turn up, Remus had just hoped he'd have a little longer to himself, in the sheets that still smelt of Sirius._

" _Professor… are you - are you alright?"_

_Wand light cast over him, and Remus looked up to meet the worried eyes of Lily Evans. The look was mirroring the same one he had gotten years before when he and Sirius had fallen out; it was the only time in their entire friendship they had. The war had put pressure on them, turning them against one another — Remus wished he hadn't let it._

_With the face of James, and the worried eyes of Harry's mother, Remus looked up and forced a smile._

" _I…" He attempted_

**Think**! _Remus hissed to himself._ **Think of anything.** " _I wanted a day to recover… from the packs," he lied, and it pained him more than anything to do it to the boy before him. "I didn't fancy… celebrating."_

_The last part wasn't as much a lie, he hadn't been in the mood to celebrate, instead coming here, to Sirius' room, and drink himself to sleep. A wedding, after all, was a joyous occasion — and there wasn't a speckle of joy in him._

" _The wedding –" Harry began, but Remus sat up with a nod of his head. "You mind if we stay?"_

_He wanted to laugh because it sounded so preposterous — this was Harry's now. All of it, every single thing, and every single piece that had once been Sirius'._

" _Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Remus half smirked._

_The boy shrugged, the weight of the world and war clearly on his shoulders. "It's your home more than mine."_

_Remus stared into the eyes and realised Harry knew more than he ever let on. It only came natural to Remus as he threw his arms around him in a hug, dawning on him that he had needed affection more than he cared to admit._

_It was when Harry rubbed his back was when the tears came, and he cried out as more pieces of his heart broke away in its mourning._

* * *

The two of them stepped out of the fire. The lamps which lit the hallway showed Sirius how little had changed — and Remus was sure he had never been more thankful.

He watched as Sirius timidly touched the wallpaper, a small smile flickering in the corner of his mouth.

"Home?" Sirius asked him, and Remus didn't have a chance to hide the blush from his cheeks at the question. "Moony…" grey eyes dancing over him with mingled pity and joy. "Am I… this place?"

Remus moved closer, his hand hesitating in the air before touching the man's chest. He remembered the tattoo's underneath, the muscles and skin he had wanted to trace. "You're home, Sirius. You've always been home," he said with all the honesty he could say without sounding pathetic, "all of my happiest memories are with you. Seems like the best kind of home."

"But here? There are no happy memories here."

It was true, in a sense, but only for Sirius. For Remus, there were far too many memories. This had been the place he had watched the man eat, and laugh — even if it had been briefly. To Remus he had never expected to see Sirius again after he went to prison — and then he did, at Hogwarts where they began, at corners of England, and then here — Grimmauld Place.

It was the only place that Remus could cling too when he fell apart; this being the place Sirius had been safe, and alive — at least for a short time.

Sirius pressed his fingers under Remus' chin, the two locking eyes and he felt Sirius look deep into his once fractured heart. "You wanted somewhere to be safe, didn't you?"

Remus swallowed hard, sighing softly through his lips as he kept his eyes on the handsome man in front of him. "I wanted to be as close to you as I could."

The sentence having more meaning than he meant, as a flash occurred in Sirius' eyes — and the man realised why his friend had taken a job at the Ministry.

* * *

_Harry had left._

_In the midst of anger, heightened emotions, and offensive words._

_Remus let them coat him. He let the words stick to his skin and become a part of him._

"My father wouldn't want his best friend to be wasting his life away! Not when, not when there's a war."

_It wasn't that Harry's words were untrue, nor was it that they stung anymore than Sirius' passing. It was the intent. He, with his mother's heart and his father's anger, had wanted to hurt Remus._

_So Remus let him. He let the words twist in his head and chest, he let them — with all the other failings — rot himself away. Nothing could feel worse than clinging onto the boy who could save the world, when all you want to do is throw yourself through the Veil after your love._

_Nothing._

_Not even if Harry tried._

_Remus tilted the bottle down his throat, letting the burn of Muggle Vodka coat his throat and soul._

_He was of no use to anyone anyway._

_He had lost the one thing in his life he had wanted to keep._

* * *

Sirius had toured the house before he sat down and Remus filled him in on as much as he thought the man could take. It had been the hardest part to tell Sirius that his brother Regulus, had actually been a large help in Harry's defeat. Without him, there would have been another soul to destroy, and the others had already been so taxing on the trio.

The man, understandably, had broken down and Remus could only console him by holding him together as he broke apart for the brother he had once been angry with. It had taken Remus handing him a beer for Sirius' words to begin to make sense again.

It was where Remus drew the line in the stories. Sirius knew the important pieces, and for now he was sure it would do.

They sat in silence for the longest time, and Remus basked in how comfortable it was. Their eyes occasionally glanced over the features of the other: Sirius over the new scars which covered Remus' exposed skin, Remus the tattoo's and _every_ shown skin — not that he hadn't committed this man to memory before.

"Do you want to go outside?" Remus asked, seeing the sun setting through the dust filled window.

Sirius nodded, the two shuffling from their seats at the kitchen table — the place they had found most comforting and normal to sit. Remus made sure to grab another two bottles, wondering why the man hadn't asked yet why he wasn't drinking their usual favourite — but he was a little embarrassed over the reason if he was being truthful.

The two found themselves on a bench that had been covered in Godric only knew what before Remus cast a charm over it — making it look inviting to seat themselves on.

Sirius moved closer, eventually resting his head on Remus' shoulder and like instinct, he ran his fingers through the dark hair on the man he had missed. They watched the stars sparkle, their words running through their minds as they occasionally looked with a knowing smile.

He listened as Sirius asked occasional questions before answering them with as much care as the man clearly needed. Remus fought tears as he listed the losses, and they both weaved their fingers through the others as they talked about the weight still on Harry's shoulders. It was comforting to have someone who saw things the same as he — who had suffered through two wars, and watched a child be the centre of them, the child which had originally brought immense happiness to their small group.

"Why are we drinking Muggle beer, Moomus?" Sirius asked as a cold breeze wrapped itself around them. "Not that I'm complaining, it's nice, but… _why?"_

Remus licked his lips, his chest heaving with fear as he met the eyes that soothed it all. "Grief makes drinking a comfortable friend. Anything stronger, and…"

"Say no more," Sirius said with comfort in his voice. "I get it," his head turning to the stars and half-moon, " _Moomus."_

"Are we really sticking with _the_ name?" Remus laughed.

A truthful laugh, one which filled him from his toes up to his cheeks. It felt genuine and real, and he wasn't sure of the last genuine time before Sirius had died and he had been alive, it had been the case.

"I'm trying it out," Sirius mumbled, "Moony sounds so…"

"Ridiculous?" Remus offered.

A smirk to rival all smirks had met Remus' eyes before the words did. "Unaffectionate."

He couldn't hide the roll of his eyes, and Sirius' booming laugh filled the garden — Remus thanking the heavens for the Silencing Charms which were placed on the back garden.

Sirius lifted from his shoulder, their faces inches apart as he swallowed thickly. Remus was so focused on the Adam's apple bobbing in the man's throat, it took a second to see lips coming towards him, and he — on instinct — met them before even thinking.

The mix of beer on their lips, and the taste of the individual made a concoction that Remus could only describe as heaven. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt as he ran his fingers up Sirius' neck, into his hair as he deepened the kiss.

It could have been the moment, the years of waiting or the stars and moon above — but he wasn't sure the moment could be any more perfect. Time seemed nothing now that they were reunited, and they had lost so much of it already, Remus was thankful it didn't.

While Remus would usually be more careful, think things through, for once he didn't. He let himself fall and immerse himself into the kiss, savouring each swipe of a tongue, and each new angle as they tried to bridge all space between them. Fingers scraped through hair; hands grasped clothing and where he thought he was going to end up ravaging the man on the garden patio — it stopped.

"Remus," Sirius gasped, the breath looking like it was stolen from him, yet his eyes were blazing with lust. "I'm broken. I'm so _fucking_ broken."

"Let me fix you."

He said it without thinking, yet it was the most perfect thing to say.

"You deserve better," Sirius challenged. The statement being so far from the truth it made him laugh. He wanted to say _how can I deserve better; I'm a fucking wolf_! He didn't need to though; he said it instead with his lips.

Remus possessively kissed him. He forced every single doubt of Sirius' out of his mind, and threw them into the air with the kiss of a lifetime.

There was no way, not a single chance, Remus would let him go — not now, not ever. He had been foolish, pathetic and cowardly before, but not again. He hoped his kiss said that; he hoped the desperation of his lips against his mouth proved that to Sirius.

When Remus softened his kiss, eventually breaking from his lips and staring into Sirius' eyes, he saw something he had never known he wanted to see — but was thankful he did.

He saw _healing_. The man who had been through so much, looking as though he was being healed, and the sight made Remus struggle to speak.

"Let's fly into the sunset, Moony?" Sirius mumbled, his thumb stroking his cheek. "Lets… forget the world for a minute, a _moment_."

Remus smiled, his cheeks on fire from blushing because of the intense look in Sirius' eyes. "Well since I can't fly, how about we ride."

Sirius raised his brow, and he wished he had been more careful. It had been something he had fought hard for, and yet when he had it, Remus wasn't sure what to do with it.

Fate, it seemed, had been a trickster itself and had pushed the thought in his head for this moment exactly.

He took a deep breath. Letting the air fill his lungs and allowed him a second to bask in the waiting Sirius beside him. "I got your bike back. You know, from Hagrid. It was.. damaged quite a bit. We used, well the Order, used it to move Harry, but..."

Remus' words being cut off as Sirius stole them with his mouth. The kiss was far hungrier than all the others, and it sent so many shocks down to the pool in his stomach, he wasn't sure he could resist not stripping the man of all he wore.

"You, Moony, are fucking…" Sirius' hand reaching in the air, his eyes narrowing as he tried to find words which seemed out of reach. "You're just… my _everything_. The bike, it was…"

He smiled, dipping his head. "The first thing you bought when you were old enough to be given the inheritance from your Uncle, aside from your tattoo that you received at the same time because the place was dodgy as fuck, and tattooed _seventeen-year-olds_ as well as allowing them to purchase a bike they can't ride."

Sirius chuckled, "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Remus raised his brows in a know-it kind of way, and watched the happiness radiate over Sirius' face. The moon, usually something Remus hated, was his friend tonight — allowing him to see Sirius in a light which he had always wished he had been able to.

Happy. Content. It was the single most beautiful thing he had seen, and Remus would never allow himself to forget it.

"I've always wanted to ride into the sunset, the end of one day and the beginning of another with my baby under me." Sirius looks to Remus, "I think it would be even better with you behind me."

"Oh _Merlin_ and all the cauldrons," Remus groaned, a blush soaring through his cheeks.

"I'm seriously being _serious_ ," Sirius smirked at the pun. "Ride with me until we start a new day. We can start our lives together riding with the wind in our hair, and without a care in the world until we come back and scare the shit out of everyone." The two of them laughed jointly, and the sound was more magnificent than Remus ever expected. Everything, since Sirius had come out of the Veil, had been wonderful. This was his chance, Remus could see it. "Let's start our life together, Remus. We can ride until the sunrise."

Pressing a kiss to Sirius' lips and Remus entwining their hands together, he allowed the smile that had been building to spread over his lips. "I'd like that. I want to be with you Sirius, more than anything."

"To the sunrise?"

"From the sunset," Remus smiled, and the moon shone down as their lips met again, this time neither stopping for anything, and letting the night see a side of them it hadn't before.

* * *

  **oOo**


End file.
